Recently I listened in on Justin Seeley’s online workshop “Designing for the Social Web” , Here’s what I learned:

Breaking down the social puzzle.

When first getting started with social media, many have questions like:

What is the difference between Twitter and Facebook?

Why do I need to be on more than one?

Why can’t I use just one?

“I have to put the puzzle together for what works for me,” said Seeley.

What is social?

Being “social” is nothing more than creating a conversation with others, Seeley said.

It is your brand, you create a targeted conversation, he said.

Why should I care about social media?

“Literally MILLIONS of people online, reaching a significant amount of them is possible with social media,” said Seeley.

“I would much rather have a thousand people who care about what I post, and want to hear what I have to say, than a million who don’t care,” Seeley said.

“I am using this as a targeted way to reach people that I teach, rather than have a huge following,” he said.

“I am cultivating a community rather than worrying about the numbers,” he said.

[Total number of fans, followers]

 

Stats about social media

• Amount of Facebook users  = two-times the population of the United States~ via Socialnomics.net.
• Facebook tops Google, there are more people on Facebook than Google.
• 80 percent of companies are using social media as a recruitment tool to find employees.
• Over 50 percent of the worlds population is under 30 and these younger people are on social networking sites.
• Many have ditched the old way of doing business, which is often robotic, without emotion. Having a personal connection with people, by using social media, is the way to drive business.
• The power of social media. Negative comments about a business, will get the business to respond quickly.
• Social networks help businesses to reach out, engaging consumers personally, not just caring about revenue, or follower counts, it’s the little things in life that attracts a consumer to the business that matter the most.
• Social networking is not about you; it’s about them, the Audience. They are coming to you for information.
• If they have a computer, they have a voice, and if they have a voice, someone is going to hear it. What you want to do is steer that voice, by meeting expectations, being nice.

“When given the choice, people will always spend their time around people they like,” said Seeley.

“Why not as a business, become friends, more human and answer, respond, and deal with it in a human way, the consumers are more likely to come back,” said Seeley.

“You have to go beyond the numbers, and start worrying about relationship,” said Seeley.

Building a relationship takes planning

How do you start building relationships and engaging people?

It all starts with a social strategy.

Map it out, find the right community, and listen to them.

“I usually go old school,” said Seeley.

“I pull out a pen and paper, write out what my goals are, what is my brand?”

“I need to determine where I am going, what do I want out of this, and do I want to increase my sales? What is my focus on?”

Here’s a list of the three networks Justin Seeley says you must be a part of:

Facebook, Twitter, Google+ [Newest and may take over Facebook, Seeley said]

When setting up profiles on various social networks, Seeley suggests being consistent.

“Use the same photo, the same logo, the same bio, creating your brand.”

Benefits to Facebook:

• It offers the most customization options today
• Has the largest audience (for now)
• Integrates with other apps/services nicely
• Most people know how to use it – “If my mom knows, then all people know.”

Benefits to Twitter:

• It is a place for a conversation. A short, 140 character conversation.
• Easier platform for engagement, and it is always changing.
• Wide range and widely adopted.

Awareness promotes to followers and customers.

“Consistency promotes awareness,” said Seeley.

“You have spent money on all that before [Branding, Marketing], why would you abandon that when you go on their web?”

Be human.

Create taglines, bios, and catchphrases; if you do not have a canned bio and catchphrase, you are doing yourself a disservice, Seeley said.

Create a single point of contact [Website] and then make sure you are driving consumers somewhere, where you want them to go, or they will be all over the place, said Seeley.

Put as much thought as possible into a personal brand.

“You are able to re-brand yourself instantly online,” said Seeley.